Demotion of Koloane and a sudden ambassadorship to get him out of the country and away from the press raises some red flags. You couldn't make up the shit this clown show get up to.

Gupta flak hits JZ
Graeme Hosken | 21 January, 2015 00:13

Preparations will begin this week to call Zuma to testify about his alleged involvement in the landing at an air force base in 2013 of a private aircraft carrying guests of the Gupta family.

The move follows the announcement yesterday by the Department of Defence - in a letter to the South African National Defence Union - that all charges against two air force personnel implicated in the scandal had been withdrawn.

Lieutenant-colonels Christine Anderson and Stefan van Zyl were labelled as being responsible for allowing 200 guests of the politically connected Guptas to land at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Pretoria. The chartered commercial aircraft brought guests from India for a wedding at Sun City.

Anderson and Van Zyl were suspended afterwards.

Both testified during a military tribunal that Bruce Koloane, then chief of state protocol and now the South African ambassador to the Netherlands, had told them that Zuma had authorised the landing.

The president denied this in parliament.

Yesterday, Sandu secretary Pikkie Greeff confirmed that a letter had been sent to the union informing it of the withdrawal of the charges.

The letter, which The Times has seen, does not provide reasons for the dropping of the charges. It says: "Kindly take note that the above-mentioned case was formally withdrawn by the director of military prosecutions on January 19."

At the time of the incident, a government investigation, led by Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, found that Van Zyl, Anderson and Koloane were behind the irregular landing of the aircraft.

Koloane, who admitted that he had lied about Zuma ordering the landing, was demoted before being made an ambassador.

Greeff said the withdrawal of the charges was a "cop-out".

"The Defence Department knows if this matter was to proceed we would pull them apart, exposing their lies," he said.

"The government is trying to slink out of this. It does not want the flaws in its investigations exposed in a proper court of law. But we will not allow this to happen.

"During the various investigations the name No1 [President Jacob Zuma] was mentioned multiple times. It was said that he had ordered the landing," Greeff said.

"Anderson and Van Zyl have given us permission to pursue civil proceedings against the government and sue all its agencies that implicated them. This means we can subpoena whoever we want, including President Zuma."

When the matter went to court the union would not hesitate to subpoena ministers from the justice cluster and Koloane and Zuma, "whom we believe is central to this issue", Greeff said.

"President Zuma needs to appear before court to explain why his name would have been dropped in ensuring the aircraft landed.

"He will have to testify on the veracity of his ignorance relating to the facts in this matter. We have evidence we need to test in court, which we think shows that, contrary to the government and President Zuma's denial of his knowledge of the landing, he knew of the expected arrival and landing of the Gupta guests.

"To test this evidence we will subpoena him."

Greeff said it was clear from Koloane's evidence that he and his accomplices in the Gupta family had to be held to account. "They must be charged with fraud and for breaching national security legislation . What happened is a clear security breach."

The Defence Department said it was waiting for a report from the military prosecutions office before commenting.

The Presidency had yet to comment last night.

DA defence spokesman David Maynier welcomed the withdrawal of charges against the military personnel.

He said the investigation had been a "carefully crafted damage-control exercise designed to firewall President Zuma and the cabinet from the political fallout from Guptagate".

"In the end, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, was responsible and should have been held accountable and fired for the Guptagate fiasco."

Solid Rust Twotter

23rd Jan 2015, 10:47

Hijacking in Pretoria.

And you wonder why no one trusts the police in SA....:rolleyes:

0JUU5PKJu-8

Solid Rust Twotter

25th Jan 2015, 11:02

So what did they think would happen when they put the fox in charge of the hen house? Those who saw this coming before '94 were shouted down and vilified by these same cANCer apologists. The only surprise here is that these people are actually surprised at what they've wrought...

The ANC has demonstrated an extreme intolerance to criticism, which suggests Jacob Zuma should be reminded of his own mortality.

When Roman emperors returned to the city with their legions after a particularly fruitful campaign – slaughtering people who didn’t want to be Romans, seizing their land, treasure, and the best-looking of their women – there were triumphant parades and fawning speeches to celebrate each glorious victory.

But while the crowds roared their adulation, a slave hunkered down in the chariot behind the homecoming hero. And the slave’s job was to whisper into the ear of the “great man” the ominous words Memento mori (remember that you have to die).

It was meant to remind even the almighty Roman emperors that they weren’t gods. That they were as mortal as any other man. That their time on Earth was brief.

President Jacob Zuma desperately needs such a retainer.

Instead, he has praise singers.

Not just traditional praise singers in leopard skins like the man who, at Zuma’s second inauguration, hailed him as a “warrior for social justice” and declared “the bones of our ancestors are vibrating” while acolytes howled approval and women ululated.

The party above all else
No. Zuma’s praise singers today are most of the 264 ANC members of Parliament who swore to serve and protect all the people of South Africa and to act in the people’s interest.

Instead, almost all serve and protect Zuma and act in the interests of the ANC and themselves. The ANC has become their employer, their religion, their cause, their tribe, their clan, their family, their nation.

That’s because of the peculiar electoral system we’ve devised, called proportional representation.

When we line up to vote, we don’t choose the man or woman we think will best represent our political, economic and social views and will, therefore, have to answer to us.

Instead, we vote for one of the political parties on offer. So it’s not too difficult to understand why, in the view of most of the MPs, their political party – rather than the citizens and the Constitution – has become the source of all power and all largesse.

As a consequence, our elected representatives find it ridiculously easy to forget their sworn duty to we the people and instead look to party bosses for respect, support, promotion – and ultimately money, licit or otherwise.

The honest fighter
All of this has entirely predictable results. Like corruption. Nepotism. Racism. Fascism. And a few other no doubt equally destructive isms.

He’s but the latest in a long line of former ANC admirers who can no longer stomach the sycophantic excesses of the Zuma/ ANC praise singers.

Max is a gentle man. A man of honour, decency and integrity. He doesn’t have to prove his journalistic or democratic credentials to anyone. His illustrious history as a courageous apartheid-fighter for so many long, brutal years is all the evidence anyone needs.

Truth to power
So when he wrote his column for the Cape Times, Pretoria News, Diamond Fields Advertiser and the Mercury on December 30, he was doing what he’s always done – he was telling truth to power.

Like this: “The devastation caused by that one-man wrecking ball – Jacob Zuma – will take years to rebuild, even if he were to leave office tomorrow.”

And: “[Zuma] masterfully outmanoeuvred those who stood up to him and instilled a culture of fear in his party. He richly rewarded those loyal to him through a vast system of patronage and massively enriched his own family and clan in the tradition of Mobutu Sese Seko [former president of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo] and Robert Mugabe.”

Predictably, the presidency was not amused. So it came up with the ultimate South African insult: “The piece smacks of prejudice and racism.”

Max’s bosses at Independent Media took the hint. Without consulting him, they apologised to Zuma for the column. This, of course, seriously pissed Max off.

As he wrote to Brown in his letter of resignation from Independent Media: “I suddenly understood why you were swayed to ... apologise to the president of the party you have pledged allegiance to ..

“It appears to me as if your political party’s interests now weigh more heavily with you than ethical journalism.” (This accusation, gentle though it may sound to outsiders, is pretty much the ultimate insult to any self-respecting journalist.)

Brown shot back with schoolyard sophistication, labelling supporters of Max’s position “malcontents and closet racists”.

And that’s more or less where it all stands today.

Max du Preez – who won Yale University’s Globalist International Journalist of the Year award, the Louis M Lyons Award for conscience and integrity in journalism, the Excellence in Journalism award from the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Southern Africa, and the Nat Nakasa award for fearless reporting – is out of a job again.

Prisoner of conscience
And once again it’s because he’s standing up for freedom of speech in our fragile democracy. He’s a prisoner of his own conscience. And he’s paying a high price for that conscience.

For Max du Preez, the lion from Kroonstad, there’s no other way.

Because, quite simply, he has no choice.

Meanwhile, Zuma and his cronies and his party will honour their oaths of office only if they stop listening to their praise singers and instead remember the slave’s warning to the emperor – Memento mori.

They might also remember that it’s the truth – however inconvenient, however discourteous, however cheeky – that makes us free.

Remember that you, too, have to die, Mr President.

Solid Rust Twotter

27th Jan 2015, 07:02

Yet more politically connected thievery. This is only the tip of the iceberg. The pilferati have been systematically looting the treasury of funds intended for running the country, and we wonder why SA is sliding into the abyss...

The former pilot of President Jacob Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki is under the spotlight for alleged irregularities at his flying school, where he runs a R66-million government project to train disadvantaged pilots.

The Civil Aviation Authority this week confirmed a probe into the South African Flight Training Academy (Safta), owned by Nhlanhla Dube, who styles himself as a former "Commander of the Presidential Jet".

The probe follows several complaints about management of the flight academy in Heidelberg, Gauteng, as well as questions about the "lucrative" R1.2-million-per-pilot programme.

CAA spokesperson Sandy Motale said an audit of Dube's school last week had found operations to be "unacceptable".

"It was discussed and decided that Safta may continue operations, but corrective action plans will be issued for all the findings of concern, and a follow-up audit will be conducted in the next couple of weeks," Motale said.

Dube, a former SAA pilot who was seconded to the military to fly the presidential jet in 2005, is a controversial aviation figure.

Fellow pilots say he is notorious for sparking political debates in the cockpit.

Many were surprised by his transfer to the air force to fly the president.

But the big surprise came two years ago when his company, Vukani Aviation, was picked to lead the National Skills Fund's "New Growth Path" project to train 59 new pilots from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In addition to the R66-million NSF allocation, Dube also received R12-million from the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta) to train another 12 pilots.

Despite the massive cash injection, only a third of the cadets have obtained their commercial pilot's licence almost two years after the first cadet intake.

In addition not a single cadet has been employed at either of the two national carriers, South African Airways and SA Express - a key programme objective.

The Sunday Times visited the school last week and spoke with several former staff members.

It has emerged that:

- Dube was never commander of the presidential jet, as advertised on his company website. The air force confirmed he was an ordinary pilot, and Dube conceded that he has since resigned from the air force;

- At the time the NSF allocation was made Dube had no flight school, prompting suggestions that he peddled his political influence to trump funding applications from other established flight schools who have been training disadvantaged pilots for years;

- After Dube took over, the school lost several flight instructors, including some who left due to fears over maintenance and pilot safety; and

- There have been numerous recent mechanical "mishaps" and training "incidents" at Dube's school, including tools being left inside an aircraft engine and problems with the school's flight simulator.

Another mishap over the weekend saw a plane plough into a veggie field adjoining the Heidelberg airfield.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali this week confirmed that the airline had "not absorbed any cadets or pilots trained at his [Dube's] school".

Rival flying schools claim the move undermines the vital need to transform aviation - a move supported by the private aviation industry and considered a government priority.

The Department of Higher Education, which manages the NSF, this week defended the R66-million allocation, claiming Dube had the necessary qualifications to lead the programme.

Department spokesman Khaye Nkwanyana said a similar contract had been awarded to Deloitte Consulting Services in 2012, worth R78-million.

However, the Sunday Times has established that only about R8-million of the NSF funds went to the Deloitte pilot programme, which produced 16 fully qualified commercial pilots within two years.

By comparison Dube's school has so far received almost 10 times as much with only limited results.

Dube this week said the criticism against the school came largely from those who opposed transformation.

"When we took over, Safta did not even have a single black instructor. Today there are more than five black instructors. But because there are black instructors the standard has dropped?"

He said all the government funds were audited and accounted for. "The NSF and Teta come to audit us on a monthly basis."

He also denied the programme had failed to produce results or was over-priced.

The average cost of R1.2-million per student was due to Safta's extensive training that went way beyond normal flight training: "Safta is not only training cadets to do 200 hours [flying] like all the other schools. We go way beyond that."

Democratic Alliance defence spokesman David Maynier called for a proper investigation into Dube, saying: "We cannot allow the National Skills Fund to become a 'slush fund' for the politically connected."

"We cannot allow the National Skills Fund to become a 'slush fund' for the politically connected."

Too late.:hmm:

Solid Rust Twotter

29th Jan 2015, 11:59

Words fail me.

Foreigners must share to avoid looting - minister

Jan 28 2015 19:33 Amogelang Mbatha, Bloomberg

Cape Town - Foreign shop owners must share their trade secrets with people in townships where they operate to curb violence and looting, Small Business Minister Lindiwe Zulu said.

“Black people were never part of the economy of South Africa in terms of owning anything, therefore when they see other people coming from outside being successful they feel like the space is being closed by foreigners,” Zulu said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the foreigners to share with the South Africans about what it is that makes it possible for them to be successful.”

At least five people, including a baby, were killed in attacks and looting of shops owned by Somalis, Pakistanis and other foreigners in townships around Johannesburg since last week.

The violence was sparked when a store owner in Soweto shot and killed a boy who he said was part of a group of teenagers trying to rob his business.

Zulu’s comments were “unfortunate” because foreign shop owners shouldn’t face conditions to share information that their South African counterparts don’t, said Patricia Erasmus, manager of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights.

“It would not make any sense to impose a duty on foreign shop owners which is not imposed on South African shop owners,” she said by phone from Pretoria.

“Many foreigners are in South Africa legitimately, they are running legitimate businesses and are a vital part of the communities. It should not be conditional on any disclosure of trade secrets.”

Xenophobic violence

Tension between locals and immigrants in townships have simmered since a wave of xenophobic violence in 2008 left about 60 people dead and 50 000 displaced.

Some locals accuse foreigners of taking jobs away from them in a country with a 25% unemployment rate.

Amir Sheikh, chairperson of the Somali Community Board of South Africa, said he’s held talks with Zulu and agree that more integration is needed between locals and foreigners.

“Working together in partnership with local South Africans is something we appreciate,” he said by phone on Wednesday.

“We cannot be an island of our own, we need to integrate and when we have integrated properly in the communities, work hand- in-hand with those in the same line of our business.”

Capetonian

29th Jan 2015, 12:04

Foreign shop owners must share their trade secrets with people in townships where they operateHere's the secret :
It's called WORK.
To expand a little on that, it means stop sitting on your gat and expecting everything to be handed to you on a plate because you are 'previously disadvantaged' and because you have a black skin and a South African passport.
You may not have noticed that plenty of black people have done extremely well. Many of them have achieved that by licking the ANC's collective backside. Others have achieved it by education and hard work.
Indians had the same 'disadvantages' under Apartheid as other non-whites. You don't see many Indians running around barefoot and living in shacks.

Solid Rust Twotter

30th Jan 2015, 05:22

Do these clowns honestly believe that a govt minister's negative public comments re foreign shop owners has nothing to do with those shop owners being killed and beaten and their shops looted? You couldn't make up this shit in your worst crack fueled dreams.

Minister's Facebook post unrelated to Soweto unrest

2015-01-29 20:58

Johannesburg - Comments made by Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane on social media in no way influenced the recent attacks on foreign shop owners in Soweto, the department said on Thursday.

"The comments the minister made early in January have no bearing on the protest in Soweto and other affected areas in Gauteng," said chief of staff Collin Pitso.

On 2 January Mokonyane posted a Facebook status expressing shock at the number of township shops owned by foreigners.

"Almost every second outlet [spaza] or even former general dealer shops are run by people of Somali or Pakistan origin in a yard that we know who the original owners were," she wrote.

"I am not xenophobic fellow comrades and friends but this is a recipe for disaster which I will raise with the authorities relevant. I also intend to get to hear as to how my local council is enforcing business and by laws in Kagiso.

"This phenomenon needs a coherent formal attention. Our townships cannot be a site of subtle takeover and build up for other situations we have seen in other countries. I am ready to state my view formally in defence of our communities."

Pitso said the looting of foreign-owned businesses was "unfortunate and can never be condoned".

"The minister wants to emphasise the importance of cross-pollination of business ideas and sharing or transfer of entrepreneurial skills as part of the revitalisation of the township economy.

"This will go a long way in creating and enhancing social cohesion," he said.

Businesses that operated in residential homes also needed to comply to municipal by-laws, he said.

Mokonyane's message elicited 59 comments on the social network with some in agreement with the minister and others condemning her message.

Widespread violence and looting of foreign-owned shops swept across parts of Soweto after a teenager was shot dead last Monday, allegedly by a foreign shopkeeper in Snake Park near Dobsonville.

By Thursday last week the violence and looting had spilled over to Kagiso in the West Rand and Sebokeng in the Vaal.

Seven people had been killed and 178 arrested.

Capetonian

30th Jan 2015, 08:13

I cannot confirm the authenticity of this letter from the Mayor of Cape Town, but it does seem likely to be true, sadly.

Last week, the ANC came to Cape Town to celebrate its 103rd birthday. It wanted to use the Cape Town Stadium and negotiated the terms with us.
We dealt with each other in good faith – I personally met with a senior delegation at the end of last year.
Both parties left feeling good. We had a contract and we were both looking forward to a successful event.
It was nice to know that, politics aside, the City of Cape Town and the ANC could be partners for matters of mutual interest, and I wished them well.
We will never make that mistake again.
I think it takes a special kind of deception to agree to something in private and then spend two weeks publicly denying every aspect of your agreement.
I couldn’t do it.
But then, I am not an ANC leader where lies, misinformation and a complete absence of conscience seem to be prized qualities.
First, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte took to the cameras to list her complaints.
In her view, barring the use of confetti was near-criminal. We don’t allow it because it damages the ventilation system.
Jessie said we were bringing back the pass system by insisting on access control! Well, the SA Police Service insisted on access control measures because it helps keep people safe.
Ms Duarte was then outraged – outraged! – that the party could not use the pitch. The ANC hadn’t paid to use the pitch.
The ANC was scandalized that it had to follow the rules in Cape Town. Clearly, this is something it is not used to.
But just when we thought the issue was over, ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa, ever eager to lower the tone of debate, decided that the politics of the gutter made him feel right at home.
So Kodwa told the country that we didn’t want “darkies” messing up the stadium, or Cape Town.
Well, Mr Kodwa, we don’t want anyone messing up the stadium, or Cape Town, hence the rules for usage, rules that apply to one and all.
And shame on you for talking about “darkies”. You are the spokesperson for the governing party.
You should act like it and look for a little dignity somewhere in Luthuli House. Good luck finding it.
Then Mr Kodwa said that Western Cape Premier Helen Zille instructed the metro police to screen ANC national executive committee members.
In fact, all metro police officers were asked to ensure that they maintained the highest levels of professionalism for such an important event.
What’s more, the premier doesn’t have the authority to instruct the metro police and would never attempt to do so.
The same cannot be said for State Security Minister David Mahlobo, who ordered the SA Police Service to abandon
the access control system, despite not having the operational authority to do so.
But what should I have expected from a deluded party that has spent so long lying that it has lost touch with reality?
We have learnt our lesson. We hope the ANC has too. Thanks for visiting Cape Town, where the rules and law apply to everyone, no matter how powerful you are. That’s why we get things like clean audits and ever-growing numbers of people leaving ANC disaster zones in search of a better life.
In Cape Town, the state does not exist to serve political parties.
De Lille is mayor of Cape Town

Solid Rust Twotter

1st Feb 2015, 19:02

Great job guys...:rolleyes:

Still nothing but crickets and tumbleweeds from those in the west who wanted this lot in charge of the country.

Johannesburg - Cabinet has been briefed by Eskom about the risk of a total national electricity blackout – and the US embassy in Pretoria has drawn up an evacuation plan partly designed to get its staff out safely if the lights go off in South Africa once and for all, reported Fin24's sister publication City Press on Sunday.

Senior government sources told City Press that Eskom late last year presented a bleak picture of what would happen if load shedding failed and the system shut down completely.

“It’s a fact. They said we needed to do maintenance because the system was unreliable and would shut down,” said a senior government official.

Eskom warned government that, if the system crashed, it would take at least two weeks to reboot.

A second official privy to the information presented to cabinet said the “two-week warning” was based on what had happened in California when its electricity system shut down in 2011.

“When your car battery is flat, you need additional capacity to be able to boost it. This is how our system works. California had to buy an amount of power equal to their total capacity to be able to reboot their system,” the second official said.

“We don’t want to go there, because all our neighbours are buying from us. No one in Africa has 42 000MW of power.”

The insider said Eskom had warned government it had no option but to continue load shedding, despite senior ANC and government officials being unhappy about the ongoing power cuts.

“We can’t afford a total blackout. We don’t have that luxury,” the second official said.

Reuters reported on Friday that in the event of a national blackout, President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet would be taken to a secret location and soldiers would be deployed at national key points, such as the SA Reserve Bank and the SABC’s head office in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

Eskom this week refused to be drawn on the chances of a large-scale blackout happening and merely said it would continue to implement load shedding to protect the grid, as this was the best way to protect South Africa’s power system.

US embassy staff are now taking a hard look at South Africa’s power situation on a daily basis.

US Embassy spokesperson Jack Hillmeyer confirmed the embassy had a plan, but said it was “standard procedure”.

“The safety and security of our American and local staff and facilities is a top priority,” he said. “As we do in our locations throughout the world, we plan and prepare for possible emergency situations we may face. Our planning in South Africa is similar to what we do in all countries.”

Hillmeyer said he could not discuss specifics about safety and security planning for “obvious reasons”.

Eskom sources have told City Press a national blackout was a “very significant possibility for the foreseeable future”.

Two sources told City Press the situation had become even worse over the past month.

Eskom should be able to generate 43 300MW of power on a 24-hour basis. However, on a good day, the power utility only produces 71% of its generation capacity owing to faults at its power stations – and the need for maintenance is critical. Lately, according to the utility’s own graphs, they have been operating at 65% on most days.

Two weeks ago, Eskom CEO Tshediso Matona told a closed meeting of 100 of South Africa’s top business leaders that his senior management “prays every day” that nothing unforeseen happened to collapse the national grid infrastructure, causing a potentially catastrophic nationwide blackout.

A CEO in the telecommunications industry, who did not attend the meeting, but was informed of Matona’s message, told City Press companies not drawing up plans for a worst-case scenario were being “daft”.

“We certainly have had meetings on the issue and God help us all if it does happen, but we can’t sit around doing nothing if the Eskom head himself has warned us,” he said. He did not want to elaborate on his company’s plans to survive a national blackout.

Peter Hain, the MP for Neath since 1991, served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He was an anti-apartheid activist of note, and is author of a number of books. His most recent book Ad and Wal tells the story of his parents’ struggle against the oppressive apartheid regime and his new book Back to the Future of Socialism will be published in late January.

Nelson Mandela passed away over a year ago and South African democracy is now almost 21 years old. How far do you feel South Africa has come as a nation and of what can it justifiably be proud?
I think South Africa has made amazing strides compared with the dark abyss into which it was collapsing towards the end of apartheid. At the time of Nelson Mandela’s release, the country was at risk of civil war and the economy was in tatters. Over the last two decades millions of homes have been built, millions of citizens have gained access to electricity, running water and sanitation, and school attendance has improved. Overall there has been a significant rise in real living standards.

It is only 21 years since the country was rescued from horror though; one cannot expect change and transformation to be wholly completed in so short a time.
http://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Peter-Hain-and-his-mother-Ad-demonstrating-outside-South-Africa-House-in-1987.pngPeter Hain and his mother Ad demonstrating outside South Africa House in 1987

In light of the Marikana massacre, continued labour unrest, and accusations of nepotism and corruption levelled at the country’s leadership, do you feel that South Africa will be able to achieve social justice and fulfil its potential as a country – the potential that Madiba and others dreamed of?
Despite the fantastic progress that the country has made, there are huge problems facing the government. Corruption is like a cancer and needs addressing all the way from municipal level right to the very top. Whilst there are undoubtedly many excellent public servants, sadly in some cases the main motivation to seek office seems to be the opportunity to stick the hand in the public till. Many within the ANC are determined to get on top of this, but equally there are those who are benefiting from corrupt practices and will resist giving them up, in the same way that a number of wealthy, white South Africans under apartheid did not want to give up their privileges.
Service delivery is also extremely variable. If one considers the huge amount South Africa spends on education as a proportion of GDP, the fact that the country is ranked so low down out of 130 countries is unacceptable. Funding is not the issue. The quality of teaching is at best inconsistent, with a shocking lack of professionalism in many cases. The teaching union (SADTU) has fought against initiatives to drive up standards. As a Trade Unionist myself I must say that the job of a union is not to defend bad practice.
Urgent reforms are also required within the police force. Marikana was an appalling disgrace (http://www.thesouthafrican.com/peter-hain-presents-documentary-on-marikanas-bloody-legacy/). A couple of decades on from apartheid, we really should have seen professional, riot-control techniques, not this militarised approach which resulted in tragic, needless deaths.
It is sad that there are still these significant shortcomings to address, especially following the wonderful World Cup in 2010, when the world got to see such a great display from the Rainbow Nation. There is a lot going for South Africa: a strong economy, good infrastructure, a well run financial system, good corporate governance, an independent judiciary, and a world class, robust constitution. For South Africa to fulfil its potential though, it needs to build on these strengths and combat the issues I’ve mentioned.
http://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Visiting-Nelson-Mandela-in-2003-Peter-Hain-his-parents-Ad-Wal-and-wife-Elizabeth.pngVisiting Nelson Mandela in 2003 (Peter Hain, his parents Ad and Wal, and wife Elizabeth)

With the emergence of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and reports of NUMSA forming a new political party following the formation of The United Front, how do you feel the political landscape is changing?
The emergence of the EFF and the United Front could be a healthy kick up the backside (http://www.thesouthafrican.com/every-court-needs-a-jester-the-effs-five-best-performances-in-parliament/) for the ANC (whom I support, by the way). The ANC has allowed itself to become complacent and I think this is why corruption has taken hold within some quarters of the party. The ANC needs to keep an eye on the United Front, as many of its supporters are very credible, ex-struggle heroes who have roots in the ANC.
Rival unions like AMCU have also shifted the landscape somewhat. Leaders of mainstream unions (like NUM in the run-up to Marikana), were remote and not in touch with the feelings of discontent experienced by their members. That said, some of these rival unions only offer confrontation; I don’t know of a trade union in the world that can succeed and has survived long term when confrontation is its modus operandi. Sometimes a strike is the only option, but I get the impression that certain leftist, militant unions start out by looking for a fight. This is not sustainable in the long run as such an approach is not in the interest of their members.
Expats are often accused of harbouring negative views towards their homeland; what role do you feel expats could play with regards to the development of South Africa?
Expats enjoyed huge levels of investment during their education in South Africa. I hear a lot of negativity though – often factually inaccurate. I sometimes wonder whether these expats were genuinely supportive of the changeover to democracy. Sometimes one comes across a determination to denigrate everything in the new South Africa, whilst not conceding that terrible things happened under apartheid – including horrendous levels of corruption. Many expats have a privileged life as a result of apartheid or apartheid’s legacy. As a matter of duty, expats should support and promote the country.
http://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chairing-United-Nationals-Security-Council-in-2000.pngChairing United Nations Security Council in 2000

You are stepping down as MP for Neath in May. What plans do you have for life after front-line politics?
I had intended to stand again having been re-selected by my local party back in November 2013. Ed Miliband suggested to me, however, that I might make a bigger contribution to the party and assist him if I played another national, political role. For a variety of reasons I cannot yet say what that role is, but it will become clear around May.
We look forward to finding out more in a few months time. Thank you, Mr Hain.

Smeagol

4th Feb 2015, 12:32

Where can I buy the Rose-tinted spectacles that Mr Hain has permanently in place?

They must be very useful in so many activities!

Capetonian

4th Feb 2015, 12:37

It's not about rose-tinted spectacles, it's about the utter hypocrisy of the man who wanted the downfall of a benign and functioning dictatorship and ultimately with his posturing cronies, brought about something far worse, under which the huge majority of the people whose side he purported to be on, are worse off than ever, nad have less hope, work, money, and education.

compared with the dark abyss into which it was collapsing towards the end of apartheid. At the time of Nelson Mandela’s release, the country was at risk of civil war and the economy was in tatters. Over the last two decades millions of homes have been built, millions of citizens have gained access to electricity, running water and sanitation, and school attendance has improved. Overall there has been a significant rise in real living standards.Bollocks.

I hope I never meet him, because I would be unable to restrain myself from committing a criminal act.

Here are some of the comments that have been added to the article :

I absolutely loathe this vile hypocrite, if he has ever not been speaking platitudes and lies in an interview I've yet to see it. In this article he makes one or two mild observations of the ANC but continues to focus on expats and a government that went out of power 20 years ago. lastly he is the typical extremist leftwinger who couldn't care less about the oppressed be they black or white unless it is a white who is doing it. He has made a career from hammering white apartheid but has said not a peep about black on white and black on black abuses of power both in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
Well after all, you can't build a career as a white, breast beating, self loathing lefty by condemning blacks who attack whites and blacks. So who cares about them.

I remember him from way way back, schooldays. He doesn't care about black people or SA, and has gained mileage and esteem from his politically correct populist criticism of all things white. Easy way to go Peter - the only thing I disagree is that he is no 'self--loathing' lefty. In fact, he's very self satisfied. It's easy to criticize from afar when you yourself are not a sitting target like the +3400 farmers who have been murdered and tortured in anti-white 'kill the boer' type atrocities that are seldom mentioned in any media, including SA. When you have an ANC (yes, which Peter supports) president who sings "Bring me my machine gun" and when the likes of Julius Malema still persist in singing "Kill the boer" at political rallies, why would you want to do the right thing and stop praising and protecting minority murder in the country you left years and years ago?Unfortunately I can't add my own as it requires a Faecesbook account.

Solid Rust Twotter

5th Feb 2015, 06:08

The cANCer pushing SA out ever further over the abyss. Those who wished this collection of thieves and thugs on the country have very short memories.

The honour the ANC is according Jackie Selebi in death is a moral disgrace. Selebi betrayed the trust of the South African people. He was appointed as the National Commissioner of Police to protect millions of decent, law abiding citizens from the horrors of crime. Instead of fulfilling his mandate he joined the criminals, and was sentenced to 15 years in jail for taking bribes from organized crime boss Glen Agliotti.

The ANC in its official statement says about Selebi that his legacy “will inspire generations to come to serve this nation with loyalty and steadfastness”. What can they mean? Should future generations also become criminals? Should they become policemen who work with criminal syndicates? In appalling brazenness the statement continues: “The ANC will continue to pursue the noble ideals and the society that Comrade Jackie gave his entire life to achieve.” What’s the message to our country? That the ANC, as an organisation, and the South African government by extension, condones corruption and crime?

For the ruling party of South Africa publicly to embrace and endorse a police commissioner who was arrested, prosecuted and jailed for working with organised crime displays a complete lack of integrity and morality, and maybe even worse, a lack of care and compassion for the plight of millions of ordinary South Africans who have suffered so terribly at the hands of men like Agliotti and other criminals. Violent crime has inflicted horrific human suffering on this country, where more than 45 people a day are murdered, and where, every year, many thousands are raped and brutalised in all kinds of ways. Those who honour Selebi create the impression that they don’t care about the people of South Africa.

In 2007, at the height of the allegations against Jackie Selebi which had been published in the media, religious leaders called for a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki to convey to him our concerns. Present at that meeting with the President were Selebi and many other government officials, senior and junior. The meeting took place in one of the very large boardrooms in the Union Buildings, and our delegation of religious leaders – representing faith communities of millions of people across the country – called upon the President to suspend Selebi because of the allegations that were made against him, even though his guilt had not yet been legally determined. We expressed to the President that the allegations themselves were serious enough to warrant the suspension of the National Police Commissioner, pending a proper investigation. Throughout the meeting which lasted a long time – about three hours – Jackie Selebi sat slouching in his chair. His face wore an expression of disinterest, even disdain. His arrogance and nonchalance at the time were staggering. Here you had South African leaders representing constituencies of millions of people who were questioning his integrity and ability to do his job. Yet he hardly said a word throughout the meeting and his body language indicated that he clearly was unperturbed by the severity of the situation.

I will never forget what President Mbeki told us in that meeting. He challenged us. He said, “Do you not trust me?” He felt it wrong for religious leaders not to trust the President. He said that if he, as president, was aware of any serious information relating to Jackie Selebi’s criminal activity, he would certainly act upon it. Well, we did trust the president, and we trusted the South African government at the time, as did millions of other South Africans. Our trust was betrayed then, and now it has been betrayed again.

We must all speak up against this outrage. We can make a difference. Indeed – somewhat paradoxically – the Selebi case itself demonstrates the power of a free society. At the time, the robustness of the independent institutions of our young democracy were able to expose Selebi and bring him to justice. A free press, an independent prosecuting authority and an independent judiciary did their work, and the President was eventually forced to suspend Selebi. In one sense, it was a great victory for the new South Africa that our constitutionally enshrined institutions were strong enough to be able to deal with a crisis of the magnitude of a National Police Commissioner’s involvement in organised crime. At the same time, it was a deeply shameful chapter in the history of the South African government. And now after all of that, for the ANC to honour and fete Jackie Selebi – ignoring the fact that he worked with one of the most notorious figures of South Africa’s criminal underworld – displays a complete lack of moral leadership, is a slap in the face of every decent South African, and constitutes a public endorsement of corruption.

If we really love our country, we cannot remain silent in the face of such conduct, which poses clear dangers to our future. Jackie Selebi’s funeral was paid for by the ANC. Now, let the ruling party recognise its error and pay for the funerals of the thousands of murder victims whose bereaved families are in agony. Let it invest its full weight and resources into the fight against the corruption that threatens the South African dream of a better life for